The Virgin Islands Next Generation Network has launched an outreach campaign to ask the public what they think would be the best use of an $8 million federal grant. Network representatives speaking at a Tuesday public meeting said funds awarded under the U.S. Digital Equity Act are designed to increase access to high-speed internet and optimize its use.
Initial discussions over two days of town meetings on St. Thomas and St. John were held in person and over a live stream meeting platform. Jaghuna Nielsen-Bobbit, the agency’s director of digital equity and inclusion, introduced the grant award as a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
As the Digital Equity Act is put to use with help from grant funding, the Virgin Islands and its people will discover the ways advanced technology is being used in other parts of the nation and the world, the director said.
“The concept of digital is more than the smartphone in your pocket, or your laptop, or whatever you’re working with,” Nielsen-Bobbit said. “There are things we could be using in the territory that either we are not using because we’re not comfortable using it, or we’re not using because we don’t have access to it, or … this is a thing we don’t have down here — we’re not familiar with it.”
Locally, the program falls under usviDEAL. Its goal is to advance digital equity by supporting education and training programs. Grants can also be used locally to acquire digital devices, officials said. Programs considered eligible for funding include computer classes and the distribution of assistive technology devices.
Formation of a grant application review board will be part of the process, the director said at the Tuesday meeting held on St. John.
Audience members were then asked to share some ideas about where they think things like robotics, drone technology, and digital medical devices could help improve lives in their community.
Nielsen-Bobbit said this week’s meetings are the first in a series of three territory-wide gatherings where network organizers will invite public participation. The director is hoping those discussions will provide guidance that will help the Next Generation Network shape the local digital equity program.
Operating as a subsidiary of the V.I. Public Finance Authority, the Next Generation Network has been at work in the territory since 2010. It is best known as the provider of high-speed broadband internet service available in public venues territory-wide.
